Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Studios are constantly vying for preexisting properties that seem like an easy shoe-in at the box office. As long a product or property has been around before and people know what it is, studios want it and want to re-create it. Recently, New Line Entertainment optioned a new take on the classic fairy tale, Peter Pan and this week they've gone ahead and hired a director to get the ship to Never Neverland rowing. Take a look at the full details below...

A number of years ago screenwriter Ben Magid penned a new take on Peter Pan titled, "Pan." This update took the well known fairy tale down a darker path. Instead of Captain Hook being the ultimate baddie we know him to be, he is a retired police detective who is hot on trail of a childlike kidnapper. The childlike kidnapper of course being Pan. It is my assumption this would lead to a story revolving around Pan, who takes children to create an army or gang of Lost Boys. Outside of my assumptions, the rest of the script's details are being kept completely under wraps.

New Line originally optioned the script with the hopes that Guillermo del Toro would direct back in 2006, but with their head out of the clouds, the studio recently hired Ben Hibon to helm the update. Who is Ben Hibon you ask? He's an up and coming director that is responsible for the animated sequence in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1." Hibon has also directed a animated short called "Codehunters" that gained him most of his credibility along with a having hand in developing the videogames Heavenly Sword and Killer 7.

Since I was a teen I've been an avid Peter Pan fan, so much so, I've even worked on my own comic version of the fairy tale. While my version of Pan doesn't sound anything like this, I certainly love the idea of a darker Neverland. My question is will this idea end up on the screen? This news reminds me of the recent "Robin Hood" that released starring Russell Crowe. That film was originally conceived as being a different take on the classic story yet ended up being nothing more than a prequel. Hopefully Hibon and New Line can see this twist all the way through.

Variety reports that "Pan" is currently casting for a Fall 2011 shoot in Europe. Fall 2011? Casting? That does seem like a ways out to be casting now, but perhaps the studio is going with mainly small names to save on budget and being kids, they might need a lot of training. Only time will tell. More details are sure to follow on this updated twist to J.M. Barrie's classic tale.